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Theo’s frown deepened. “Fine isn’t the most reassuring word. I can read you like my favorite book. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
I shook my head before I could get any words out. “Nothing. I’m good. Ready to see you play.”
Theo studied my face as his jaw tightened. “You promise? You’d tell me if something was wrong? It’s not your mom or brother?”
I shook my head. “Not them, I swear.” This was where I had to make the right call. He knew something was off, somehow, because he paid so much attention to me, and my poker face was trash. I had to distract because he had a game in an hour. I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He melted against me as I kissed his jaw. “I promise. Now, I need my boyfriend ready to kick ass on the ice.”
He let out a small laugh and kissed below my ear. His blue eyes warmed as he pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “Love knowing you’re here, Auds. Love it a fucking lot.”
“Play hard, be safe.” I kissed his mouth, ignoring the race of my heart at his use of the term love. I loved him with everything I had, and that meant making sacrifices sometimes.
“See you later, baby.” He kissed me one more time before winking and heading back into the rink. I exhaled and rubbed my temples for a minute, hoping that’d ease the tension.
Maybe I’d tell him after the game. Yeah, I didn’t want to keep anything from him this big, but at the same time, if I could speak to his dad, I could get him to stop. All I knew was I refused to let Theo get hurt, and I’d do anything to prevent it.
Two hours later, I sat in the seats Theo gave us, and his dad wasn’t there. I stood with an empty seat next to me, and Theo was having a rough game. First period flew by without a single goal. There had only been a few shots attempted, and they weren’t pretty. Hannigan, our goalie, blocked a ton, but it was already 0 and 3.
The opposition had possession most of the time, and their defense was strong. Better than ours. Theo was off. I could tell. He was playing with less attitude and slower. He didn’t have his usual swagger, and I hoped with all my being it had nothing to do with our chat.
My chest ached with worry. Where was his damn father? He told Theo and me he’d be there to hang with me and see Theo play, yet as the second period finished, his seat was very empty. Fuck, the nerves and anxiety around this were paralyzing.
I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but I swore Theo knew I sat here and hadn’t once looked my way. I’d be hard to miss. It was front row.
At the start of the third period, it was 1-4. The other team kept slamming into Theo, roughing him up. The crowd roared at him, rallying behind him since he’d become a crowd favorite. It was so easy to root for him with his easy smiles and obvious teamwork. He received the loudest cheers the last month, scoring twice most games. He made the other guys look good while he played too. But tonight, he was off. Still.
“Let’s go, Sanders! Score!”
“Come on, Theo!”
He was checked into the wall, his face a few feet from mine, and I held my breath until he pushed off and skated past the opponent. Phew. This game was rough, and while Theo was large and fast, he could still get hurt.
He passed to Liam and shot the puck right into the net.
The sirens blared. We were only down two now. Their coach yelled orders at them, and Theo nodded. The other team had minor penalties back-to-back, and the Wolves operated a power play with ease.
Liam to Peter, Peter to Theo, Theo to Blaze, back to Theo, then Peter and goal! I jumped up and down, screaming with the crowd next to me. It hit me how much I loved watching the game. I’d avoided it with Quentin, but with him and I working on us and Theo? I needed to watch more. It was fun.
The third period flew by. The Wolves were still down one with the last few minutes. The Wolves had been undefeated at home, but with the final seconds, Theo blitzed down the ice, his stick work unparalleled. He pulled back, shot the puck, and?—
He missed. The game ended with a loud blast, and the Wolves lost.
The hushed silence of the crowd was so loud. A collective sigh overtook the rink as the guys left the ice. Theo hung his head as he disappeared into the locker room, and my stomach hurt for him.
He took every game seriously, and every win mattered. But the guys were human, and shit happened. I’d reassure him everything would be fine.
My nerves twisted as I made my way toward the family area. I’d avoided thinking about his dad most of the game, but now that I saw him standing against the wall, the rush of anger returned full force. He’d ditched me at the game for work and made me lie to Theo. He smiled when he saw me approaching.
How dare he look happy when he was cheating on Theo’s mom again? Confrontation was so hard for me. My body rebelled against it, but I’d do this for Theo.
“Audrey, hi.” He waved and offered a small smile as I approached him. “Sorry I didn’t make my way to your seats. I got here late and hung out in the standing room area with a buddy from work.”
I nodded, words escaping me. How did I bring this up? What was the right protocol here? Theo hated liars. He made that clear, and keeping something from him felt like being choked. “You?—”
“Next time, we should sit together, Audrey. I want to get to know my son’s girlfriend. Is that… would you like to for next home game?” he asked, his expression tight, like he was nervous.
I nodded again, annoyed that I felt bad for him. No. He was lying. He could’ve sat with me today but chose not to. “Listen, Mr. Sanders.”
Commotion started behind me, and I knew the players were exiting now. I had seconds. Theo never came out first, so I rushed. “You need to stop the affair. You promised Theo you wouldn’t do that again. Yet you lied. After everything you did, your lies will crush him, Mr. Sanders. You need to end it now. He’s been so happy. He deserves better,” I said, my teeth gritted as my eyes watered.
